"I, Sun Hu, am here!"
At those words, Sun Hu roared and sprang straight up from where he stood. Like a fierce tiger, he leaped directly onto the arena platform, which stood at least ten feet high.
The leap brimmed with imposing force.
"Well done!"
"Brother Hu, make sure you get us off to a good start!"
Sun Hu's companions all cheered loudly in high spirits.
To them, Sun Hu's passing this round was already nailed to the board.
"Xu Taiping, where are you?"
The examiner called Xu Taiping's name again.
"Here."
Xu Taiping, who was just about to step onto the arena stairs, raised his hand and answered.
"Why are you going that way?"
The examiner paused in surprise.
"Am I not allowed to?"
Xu Taiping was somewhat puzzled. If we're not allowed to use them, why put stairs here?
"Go on up, go on."
The examiner waved impatiently.
Of course the stairs could be used, but since the matches had begun, not a single person had climbed them in the ordinary way. Suddenly encountering someone so straightforward left the examiner rather unaccustomed to it.
Meanwhile, Sun Hu's companions below the platform burst into laughter at the sight.
"Little kid, mind your step on those stairs. Don't fall!"
"How about we give you a hand?"
The conditions in which the Outer Sect Disciples lived at the foot of the mountain had shaped them into people who bullied the weak, feared the strong, and worshipped strength. Now that they saw Xu Taiping mounting the platform in such an ordinary way, how could they not mock him?
"It's just getting onto the platform. Why make such a fuss about how?"
Xu Taiping found this utterly baffling.
To him, these people who jumped onto the platform from the side were like people